IRS to share immigrant tax data with ICE, prompting advocacy group concerns
Organizations like LULAC are speaking up for immigrants after the Internal Revenue Service recently announced it will now share some immigrant tax information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
IRS-ICE deal reached
On Tuesday, the IRS announced a deal with immigration authorities to share tax information about certain undocumented immigrants.
"We find that very troubling," said Roman Palomares, LULAC's national president based in Dallas-Fort Worth. "It's shocking to a certain extent. I think it's going to have an effect, not only here in Texas but all over the country."
Economic impact feared
Many undocumented immigrants who live in the U.S. do pay taxes, which means they report earnings to the IRS. Palomares said this could bring economic strife in the billions.
"It's going to have an impact in regards to monies coming into the IRS, but I think what's going to happen is people are going to be hesitant about returning those, even though they may be in the system," he said. "I think this is going to have a terrible impact on the economy moving forward, especially now."
Client inquiries surge
Lira Bravo immigration attorney Jenna Jabara said since the news broke, they're seeing an influx of clients calling about these changes.
"And Tax Day is coming up, we're five days away, and people are wondering what we should do, because it's very complicated," said Jabara, who has been practicing immigration law for 13 years.
Legal concerns arise
Part of the deal agreed upon by the two agencies is that the IRS will only share information about undocumented immigrants who are already facing deportation orders or are under criminal investigation, including the crime of failing to leave the country, but many are wondering about the legality of it all.
"So we do know that, yes, under circumstances there are ways for the IRS to share this information, but I think the big question of whether this specific agreement is legal or allowable is something that we'll learn a little bit more about," said Jabara. "That's something the courts will have to decide."
Impact on DACA recipients
One of the largest groups that could be impacted by this is DACA recipients, also known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which in Texas alone has over 100,000 applicants. But Jabara said currently there's a lot of "gray area" with how the agreement is written, which could cause concern for certain immigrant groups.
"The catchall provision of criminal investigations, the wording around that does lead some people to believe, fairly, that this can implicate a broader group of people than originally imagined," she said.
On Wednesday, the IRS acting commissioner resigned over this deal with ICE. Anyone who may be concerned about these changes is urged to contact their immigration attorney.
